As the referee blew the final whistle to signal the end of the final match,Nishu Kumar and Gursimrat Singh headed towards the Chandigarh Football Academy dug-out and exchanged post-match pleasantaries with coach Harjinder Singh. Even though the AIFF Regional Academy,Navi Mumbai,the team for which Nishu and Gursimrat were plying their services,finished on the winning side,one could clearly see the pain in the eyes of both the players. A few months ago,both Nishu and Gursimrat's heart beat for the Chandigarh team and the affection and the special place that the Chandigarh team held in their heart was palpable as they reached out to their former teammates and gave them consoling hugs. Those watching the Chandigarh team losing the match from sidelines,knew that both these players should have been playing in the opposite half,for the Chandigarh team. For a team that was playing without the majority of players in their playing XI,it was a heartening performance even though they ended up on the losing side. Despite the pain of defeat,Harjinder took a lot of heart from the performance of the team. But even he knew having Nishu and Gursimrat in his side would have increased the chances of his team winning the final and successfully defending the title manifold. "No doubt both of them are very talented players. After the match,they both came to meet me and I congratulated them on the victory and wished them a successful life. The way they played in the final today,I would have loved to see them playing in my team. Apart from them,I clearly missed the players who are either injured or have left the team. We clearly lacked power today," rued Harjinder. The coach was talking about the players who have left the academy in the last few months. More than half of the team members from last year's winning side was missing and his helplessness to field a quality side against the mighty AIFF team was clearly understandable. Rewinding time,Chandigarh Football Academy were the team to beat in last year's edition of the Administrator's Challenge Cup. From the defence to attack,the team was clearly balanced while many talented players warmed the bench in the tournament. The situation,however,is different now as Harjinder had to look for quality in the junior players as he didn't have enough players in the senior team to field a playing XI. "I am delighted at the way the junior players have responded. With the kind of talent we had at disposal,reaching the final itself was a big result for us. And I am happy to know that the players are concerned about the outcome of the match,like Samuel called me today to inquire about the result," added Harjinder. Samuel Lalmuanpuia,one of the leading players of the academy,needed an operation on his ankle which forced him out of action for more than three months. However,one thing continues to haunt Harjinder even today: talent drain. Sample this: in the last one year,the players of Chandigarh Football Academy have played only the pre-Subroto Cup and Administrator's Cup tournaments. Not only the absence of tournaments,the lack of exposure trip is also resulting in exodus of players. After the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU0 between Leipzig Sportscheule Egidious Braun,Leipzig,Germany came to an end midway,the Chandigarh Administration,Sports Department has failed to send the players on exposure trip. "I don't blame the players for leaving the club. They needed matches,exposure trips at this time of their career. It is natural for them to get attracted to other clubs who are ready to provide them those facilities. If the UT Administration do not take a concrete step in this direction,the exodus of players will continue to happen," shared Harjinder.
